YHA Ironbridge Coalport

This place is effectively a giant Faraday Cage, so don't expect a decent phone or internet signal inside most of the rooms. The building is basic but functional; the ensuite room I had was adequate for my needs and was largely empty so no late night noise problem. The YHA is right next to the China Museum, which is handy and not too far from the Jackfield Tile Museum (15 minutes). It's 30 minutes walk into Ironbridge itself along the safest route via Jackfield which avoids the main roads and is really very pleasant. There is a small canal along which you can walk in the morning or evening, as suits. The negative aspect is that the food, as at many YHAs, is a let down. I'm 63 and fading a bit, it takes me time in the morning to get going, so I arrive at breakfast after 0800 by which time the locusts have been through, overfilling their breakfast plates, eating what they can then making off with the remains, along with the bread and butter so they can make sandwiches for lunch. What remains isn't very palatable - rubbery scrambled egg, congealed bacon, anaemic sausages, mushy fried tomato - and they're very, very reluctant to make fresh. They often advertise the breakfast as 'unlimited - it isn't unlimited if you just point at what's left and say "that's all that there is, there's no more". The Tile Press Cafe at the Maws Centre (ten minutes away) does an amazing freshly prepared breakfast for an extra quid, I'd rather walk there and eat than have the poor, industrially-produced breakfast at the YHA. This, along with the inadequate and expensive new evening menu, is a problem all over the YHA with the honourable exception of YHA Chester (Trafford) where the kitchen staff were happy to go the extra mile to make the food enjoyable, even if the one breakfast I had there was overrun with noisy schoolkids. Obviously, I don't expect 4-star treatment at a hostel but I'd like the food to be better at the prices that they charge; even Wetherspoons do better for less money and O'Neill's certainly do better for less. When you factor in the price of the room and the expensive breakfast and the expensive evening meal, you might as well stay at a small B&B closer to Ironbridge via Trivago or Tripadvisor. And if the manager of the hostel comes on and vomits up the usual meaningless ManagerSpeak instead of making real efforts to change the culture in favour of the guests, you can make up your own mind about whether or not to stay here.

Really nice hostel, very clean. Don’t be put off because of reviews re parking - staff here said at check in if we get any fines through the post to just email them and it would be cleared. You won’t have to pay. Just an admin error. Beds were comfy, kitchen great. No games/books for adults in the lounge area though. Wanted to enjoy our stay here, however the heat was insane! This place was the hottest building I’ve ever been in; me and my 2 young kids couldn’t sleep! And it wasn’t even warm/sunny outside. I’ve no idea how people cope here in summer! So if you don’t mind your eyeballs sweating, and heat is your thing, you’ll love it. I’d like us, you prefer normal human temperatures, I’d avoid. It was genuinely unbearable.

OK hostel. Staff were all friendly. Breakfast was ok. Room was clean and tidy. However website says free parking and I've just received a parking fine in the post! Seems the parking isn't free. This needs sorting as it's really pissed me off.

We went for a day out to the China Museum, time was getting on and we wanted some lunch so we decided to interrupt the visit and go to the YHA cafe, the only onsite catering option. It wasn’t busy and we placed our order for a simple snack, toasted sandwiches with salad and fries. After half an hour we realised that the waitress bringing some plates was actually going to the next table so we continued to wait. It was totally shambolic with kitchen staff juggling making the salad, shaking the deep fat fryer and watching the panini press. It was another 15 minutes before our order arrived, only for us to discover that it was incorrect, not cheese as requested but ham and tuna respectively. We decided not to wait for them to conjure up the right food and headed off to Ironbridge, missing out on the remainder of the museum. The cafe manager had just come on site and refunded us in full but we left hungry and our day out was marred. It’s a pity, we were thinking that we might join the YHA and stay in some hostels this summer.

Another great stay with warm & comfy room, ensuite and with food provided in the cafe. Just what we needed for a single night en route for Wales but with time to walk, explore and an evening in the recently flooded pub - good beer 'Butty Bach' & friendly locals!

Brilliant staff and a lovely place to stay. Communal kitchen was spotless and well equipped. The place has a youth club vibe and is a little run down so don’t expect a sparkling modern place. If you want a cosy, friendly place to stay in a perfect area for walking and kid friendly museums, this is ideal. Cafe there is great and bar is open in the early evening.

Booked directly with YHA and the YHA website clearly says free parking. We checked this on arrival and gave our registration number. The heating system was completely broken. Awaiting a new boiler. It's a single skin brick building with metal framed single glazed windows. It was freezing. We didn't stay, as it was too cold. There were very small plug in radiators in the bedroom, shared lounge but nothing to heat the members kitchen or dining room. Very poor customer experience. The staff were excellent at Coalport but the head office experience for getting the refund has been exhausting and the refund still hasn't been processed.

Thanks to Rob, Ben, Daniel and Jo especially for making my stay so enjoyable. Nothing is too much trouble for them. The hostel and its surroundings are superb- great for walking, cycling, visiting its many museums and just enjoying nature at its best. There are so many great riverside pubs along the banks of the Severn, most within walking distance. Ironbridge Gorge is just two miles away with its iconic bridge and a short distance away is Coalbrookdale with further museums and a beautiful, tranquil park by the river. From Ironbridge there are buses into Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock . Church Stretton is nearby which gives access to the Shropshire Hills and the Long Mynd, great walking and, for the more adventurous, a great cycling route. Rob told me not to miss Little Stretton and The Green Dragon pub has beautiful views of the Shropshire Hills. All in all the hostel is a great place to stay- a lovely lounge, very good self-catering facilities and with The Severn Way and The Silken Way on its doorstep so much gorgeous countryside to see. Cannot wait to go back!

Lovely location with a couple of pubs within walking distance. Clean rooms and friendly staff. Great location for visiting the museums of Ironbridge area. We fed the ducks ( always carry bird feed) and enjoyed the riverside walks.